ICD Brief 1.

ICD Brief 1.

25.07.2016. – 31.07.2016.

USA

“In late April of this year, the U.S. Supreme Court adopted an amendment to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41(b) that would allow judges to issue warrants permitting the FBI to access computers located outside the court’s jurisdiction.”

“The White House announced new measures Tuesday to strengthen the federal cybersecurity workforce, including policies that will help agencies retain, as well as recruit, highly skilled information security professionals.”

“Indiana University and Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center are working together in an effort to enhance cybersecurity. The IU Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research has signed a two-year agreement with the Naval base to share personnel and cybersecurity expertise.”

“A panel debating the increasingly important topic of cybersecurity at the 72nd IATA AGM in Dublin agreed that awareness of the potential for breaches was the starting point. Airlines have to make their plans on the assumption that they will suffer from a cyberattack.”

“Faced with new global terrorism threats and criminals leveraging sophisticated technology to forge documents, the enforcement arm of the Department of Homeland Security has upgraded the lab where it detects bogus documents and scans videos and other media for criminal activity”

“US policies regarding cyber security raise interest in governments, organizations and businesses all over the world. Many wonders whether the upcoming presidential elections in the US would bring about any shifts in these policies.”

“The University of Virginia”s College at Wise and the MACH37 Cyber Accelerator at the Center for Innovative Technology have agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding that will strengthen the cybersecurity industry and create new cyber jobs, internships, and educational programs in the Southwest Virginia region.”

“Cyber security experts and U.S. officials said on Monday there was evidence that Russia engineered the release of sensitive Democratic Party emails in order to influence the U.S. presidential election.”

Israel

“The conversation features ben Israel, a retired Israeli Defence Force major general. He is now, among other titles, director of the Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center at Tel Aviv University. He gives five pieces of advice about how to create better cybersecurity.”

“SCADAfence, a pioneer in securing industrial networks in smart manufacturing industries, announced today it has joined Gigamon”s (NYSE: GIMO) ecosystem partner program to provide a joint cybersecurity solution.”

“EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, Gilles de Kerckhove, was one of the main speakers this week at the 2nd Intelligence and Special Forces Conference in Tel Aviv. He named Israel as a positive example which should be followed if the EU wants to prevent the so-called “lone wolf” attacks. “

“Dubbed the “Capital of the Negev Desert,” Be’er Sheva has been locally known as a dusty pit stop between Tel Aviv and tourist destinations in the south of Israel. The article follows the city”s transformation to one of the most interesting cybersecurity hubs in Israel.”

“Contra some previous reporting, some political leaders in the United Kingdom have not abandoned efforts to force tech companies to build “back doors” in communication systems and software to make it easier for authorities to engage in surveillance or access citizens’ private data.”

“The Office for National Statistics said the inclusion of 5.8 million fraud and other online offences in official statistics for the first time meant there were 12.1 million crimes in England and Wales up to the end of March this year. The previous official annual total was 6.3 million.”

“Cyber-Security Challenge UK is in search of 10 candidates, between the ages of 15 and 29, who have demonstrated an exceptional ability in digital forensics, social engineering and code breaking to compete with the best new talent in Europe. The competition will be held in Germany.”

“Although EU citizens will see stronger privacy and cybersecurity protections through EU law post-Brexit, multinational companies should be particularly worried about how future regulation will treat the loads of data they traffic about customers, employees, and deals between the EU and the UK. Axel Arnbak encounters the different implications of Brexit in the field of cybersecurity.”

“Reports of fraud have doubled, according to official statistics – because the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is now including cyber crimes in its figures. The UK’s ONS reckons, in crime statistics released last week, that more than two million computer misuse offences and 3.8 million online fraud offences took place in the 12 months to the end of March.”

Baltics/Estonia

“The need for international cooperation in training cyber-defence experts was emphasised by Finnish Defence Forces chief of general staff vice admiral Kari Juhani Takanen during his visit to the Tallinn-based NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Estonia last Thursday.”

“Amid growing concerns over the safety of citizens’ data in Estonia, the country’s officials are in talks with the British government to possibly pursue “backing up” masses of data from electoral rolls, banking credentials and property deeds in a British data centre.According to the Financial Times, escalating tensions between Tallinn and Moscow have only heightened concerns about cyberattacks in the country”

Poland

“Polish telecom Netia suffered a major data breach following an attack that allowed hackers gain access to 14GB of customer data. Following the incident, which took place on July 7, the company’s website was down until later that day.”

Iran

“Stuxnet, a self-replicating computer virus that disrupted 20 percent of Iran’s nuclear centrifuges. Discovered in 2010, it was the first highly public instance of state-supported cyberwarfare. Stuxnet has had a lasting and significant impact on the country’s industry, politics, and culture. Cybersecurity experts and journalists later uncovered evidence to suggest Stuxnet was a result of a cyber weapons collaboration between the U.S. and Israeli governments aimed at Iran”s growing nuclear enrichment program.”

Russia

“An investigation into the origins of financial Trojan Carbanak has revealed alleged connections to a Russian cybersecurity firm. Carbanak is a sophisticated Trojan which is used in campaigns against banks, e-payment systems, and financial institutions worldwide.”

EU

“The European Defence Agency (EDA) and the European Union Satellite Center (SATCEN) have exchanged letters to formalize their existing cooperation, in place since 2004. The letters establish a more structured cooperation, increasing the number of mutually pursued activities such as studies, workshops, projects and programs.”

“On 5 July, the European Commission (EC) published a communication outlining measures to improve resilience to cyber incidents, improve cooperation and information sharing, and promote innovation and competition in the European cybersecurity industry.”

“European Union plans to extend export controls on so-called “dual-use” technologies to include cyber-surveillance tools could put the brakes on sales of smartphones. Dual-use technologies are those that can serve civil or military purposes, and some countries impose restrictions on their sale because of fears that they could be used to abuse human rights in the destination country.”

“Swiss cyber security companies Wisekey and OpenLimit have signed an MoU to merge their operations. Under the terms of the deal, OpenLimit would be merged with and into Wisekey, with Wisekey being the surviving entity.”

ITU

“Pakistan has taken up the issue of Afghan Sims with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).Use of Afghan SIMs in Pakistan is not new and law enforcing agencies in recent past have been claiming that most of the criminal activities in KP have been carried out with those alien SIMs.”